The owner of the team Scott Gardiner announced on July 8, 2016 that the team was being renamed the North Stars after the Traverse City North Stars who played in the North American Hockey League from 2005 to 2012. Gardiner said rebranding the Hounds was an obvious move. He was also an owner of the original North Stars team. The youth teams in the area still used the North Stars name and felt it would link the team even more to the community.

On July 5, 2017 the team announced that it would go dormant for the 2017-18 season. Team owner Scott Gardiner stated "Unfortunately, due to the rising costs of operating a junior hockey franchise, we ultimately have no choice but to make this heartbreaking decision today,"